Kate and her husband will be featured in an episode of My First Place this Thursday on HGTV. Will they score their first home or will an ugly shed spoil their dreams? Tune in and see. Or if you can't wait, email Kate for the spoiler.

AASHE's webinar about their new STARS program went off without a hitch today with over 1000 estimated listener-inners. Following the session, AASHE received many requests from faculty members and others for a copy to rewatch and share. AASHE's already planning their next web session. Congrats to our PR group, interactive team and our client on a job well done. 

Between the economy and harsh Northwest winters, more and more people have difficulty making even basic ends meet. One of those basic needs is energy— to heat homes and water, power lights and cook food. Our client Avista has many programs, as well as connections through other programs, to tailor bills to individual customer needs and provide assistance when necessary. Avista came to us to create a central place to promote all of these resources. The difficulty with using avistautilities.com (their main website) to promote specific billing and rate information is that the site serves multiple functions and contains so much content that information can sometimes be hard to find. The solution was to create a microsite with easy-access and helpful information for customers. The new site emulates the established corporate look and design standards, allows them to house comprehensive and informative videos, includes information and links to additional resources, and is easily updateable as needed for this ever-evolving subject. More importantly, the site is user-friendly and approachable. Take a moment to check it out. www.avistainfo.com 

Below is the before shot:

Imelda’s and Louie’s Shoes like all retailers was anxious going into this holiday season. After all, boutique stores have been especially vulnerable. So how does a local shoe shop avoid getting scuffed up by the competition and catch the eyes of budget-strapped shoppers? Fortunately Imelda’s has been a steady advertiser, building on a consistent voice, look and feel each year. And like any good investment, it’s paid off.

In yet another recessionized holiday shopping season, Imelda’s was unwaveringly present in all the usual places. We created a fresh series of newspaper ads to appear weekly as the holidays approached. Email blasts went out to customers and social media updated followers on product and served up gift ideas. The result was a 4% increase in sales over last year’s figures. In an economy where flat is the new up, that’s not bad. So, are shoes recession proof? With stalwart marketing, it would seem so.